>>Do you trade Canadian options much?
Pretty much ;-)
I'm a specialist for ABX, BCE, BLD, and N, as well as ABX Leaps.
Our market is pretty much like any other, just on a smaller scale. We have our dogs and our dancing ladies. Always keep an eye on volume and open interest--if it don't fit, don't force it. When a stock starts to cook, our market responds terrifically: remember BXM, HUM, BII, a long list of others. This is in addition to the usual steady, liquid traders like most of the banks, the golds, Bell, etc.
I'm an independent, meaning I work for myself--no salary, pension, health package, etc. The only way I make money is by trading, so it's obviously in my interest to get the open interest up by getting clients 'into the game' by filling their orders. The public isn't aware that we use something called 'auto-rotate' which calculates and sends our option quotes every time the quote on the underlying changes. We do not change the markets ourselves except in certain circumstances, so while it may seem the market moves away from a bid or offer, it's actually a result of the action of the stock. Another way of putting it is: you'll never beat the floor off the hop when a stock starts to move. Add in the time lag between when you enter your order and it actually hits the trading square, and the difference can seem great. It's always more rewarding to be on the bus when it leaves the platform than to be running after it...
This turned out to be a little longer than I anticipated, so that's it for now.
Happy trading.
Porter |
